


Luminescence

by ironstatic (eloquentelegance)



Series: 100 Beautiful and Ugly Words [11]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Gen, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 13:44:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5293358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloquentelegance/pseuds/ironstatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>dim chemical or organic light</p><p>(Jinx is a terrible, terrible influence.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Luminescence

_dim chemical or organic light_

“Gods, who does she think she is?”

“I know!”

“Like she’s all that!”

“Right?”

“She’s not even properly trained in the arcane arts!”

“She sheds, like, all over the place.”

“She used to be a debutante! An informat for her father!”

“I heard she sees a vet nowadays.”

“How dare she call me a low-level mage!”

“She kept stealing my kills!”

“Where’s her degree from the College of Magic?”

“And she insulted Fishbones!”

Lux looks over at Jinx. “What?”

Jinx puffs up her cheeks. “She kept calling Fishbones a piranha, when he is obviously a shark!” She points the rocket launcher at Lux, snapping the decorative jaws. “See? Chomp! Chomp!”

“No, I mean, what are you doing in my room?”

“Complaining about Cassiopeia, duh! What do you think we’ve been doing for the last five minutes?”

“But how did you get in?! I had security measures!”

“You mean the lazers?”

“Yes,” Lux spits out through gritted teeth. “I mean the lazer-induced plasma, capable of cutting through flesh and bone, horribly maiming anyone who isn’t me. Those lazers.”

“Yeah, I disabled those awhile ago.”

“When?! How?!”

“During your last official match, and I told you, I’m very flexible,” Jinx wags her brows.

“Ugh!” Lux grimaces. “Forget I asked! Just get out!”

She moves to shove Jinx out of her room, but Jinx grabs hold of the doorframe at the last second and refuses to budge.

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait!”

“No! Leave!”

“About Cass!”

“What about her?”

“I got a couple cans of magic-reactive paint.”

“So?!”

“Hello, Flashlight? You’re a light mage? C'mon! I thought you were supposed to be smart.”

Lux stops shoving at Jinx, thinking it over for a minute. She would be lying through her teeth if she said the idea didn’t appeal to her.

“She called you a low-level mage,” Jinx whispers, grinning slyly. "A trickshot. A two-bit magician. You gonna let her get away with that?“

Lux chews it over before snarling loudly. She gives Jinx a good hard shove. Jinx yelps and collapses in a heap in the hallway.

"Meet me outside her window an hour after lights out,” Lux informs her curtly before shutting the door with a firm click.

Jinx raises a shaky thumbs up. "Good talk.“

The appointed time sees Lux garbed in her Spellthief outfit, clinging to the Institute walls. Jinx is nowhere to be found. She bites the inside of cheek, wondering if this is all an elaborate set up to frame her. A Demacian agent found sneaking into a Noxian’s quarters. It could be the scandal of the century, or seen as attempted assassination. Lux didn’t know which was worse. Oh, Liberty. What was she thinking? Agreeing to a reckless plot like this? It’s not like her to be impulsive! And now, Jinx ditched her to -

"Wow! If I knew you were gonna dress up for this, I woulda worn my clean shorts!” Jinx chirps, swinging down from the upper floor.

Lux stifles a shriek, breathing in sharply and spitting out, “Where. The hell. Were you?”

“On the roof,” Jinx replies brightly. “I was up there waiting for go time.”

“What were you doing up there?”

“Uh, watching the moon rise? I don’t really get to see it often, you know, back in Zaun. What with all the pollution. It’s a great view. You should go up there sometime.”

“Huh,” Lux blinks, taken aback by the harmless answer. “That actually sounds - Wait, no. Focus. We’re not here to idly chat. We’ve got a job to do.”

“No reason we can’t do both.”

“Jinx,” Lux says, a note of warning in her tone. “You have the paint?”

“Yup!” Jinx tilts her hip, gesturing at the cans clipped to her belt.

“Aren’t those heavy? How is it not pulling your shorts down?”

“Magic,” Jinx answers with a secretive smirk.

Lux rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Let’s just get this started.”

Jinx playfully salutes her before creeping over to Cassiopeia’s window. She carefully pries it open, sliding in without a sound, before waving at Lux to follow.

Jinx is good, Lux notes, but she’s better. She smirks to herself as she sneaks into the room, deliberately not touching anything. Not a trace, not a fingerprint, not a problem.

“So, how do you wanna do this?” Jinx mouths at her, prudently not using her voice.

Lux shrugs. She’s never done anything like this before.

“Do you know how to tag?”

“Tag?” Lux mouths back.

“You know, graffiti? Bombing?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh my god!” Jinx throws up her hands. “How are you this boring?!”

“Whatever!” Lux glares. “Just do something! I’ll follow your lead.”

Jinx scowls, “Fine.”

They turn to the peacefully sleeping Cassiopeia, totally ignorant of the two trespassers invading her room. It feels very familiar to Lux, like the old days during her service, when she would swallow back her sense of honor and fairness. She has no need to now. Whatever righteous feelings she once had were drained out of her. It’s hard to hold on to things like that when you’re a thief.

Jinx unclips the cans, opening both. She pulls out paintbrushes from - Lux didn’t want to know where. She hands one to her and it looks clean. Lux takes it gingerly. Jinx starts to swirl her brush in the paint and reaches for the snake half of Cassiopeia. Lux seizes her wrist.

“We can’t,” she says breathlessly.

“Ssh!” Jinx hushes, then mouths. “Chickening out, Flashlight?”

“No,” Lux replies, just as soundlessly. “Just not the snake parts. Cassiopeia is very… sensitive to people touching her snake parts.”

“Exactly!”

“No! I want to inconvenience her, not… not hurt her. Face, torso, or nothing,” Lux glares defiantly at Jinx.

Sighing, Jinx pouts but moves her hand to hover over Cassiopeia’s eyes. “God, you’re such a goody two shoes.”

Lux snorts. Well, maybe she still had a sense of fairness after all, certainly more than her cohort at least.

“What do you say, Flashlight?” Jinx nudges her in the ribs. “Think pretty, little Cass here will look good with a unibrow?”

“Don’t forget the mustache,” Lux replies, holding up her own brush.

They share a look, before devolving into silent snickers. Then Lux abruptly freezes, going very still.

“This,” she starts, not quite looking Jinx in the eye. “This isn’t bonding. You coercing me to do a minor crime is not bonding.”

“Coercing nothing,” Jinx smirks. “You came of your own free will.”

“You’ve got no proof,” Lux fires back.

Jinx beams at her, looking far too thrilled by her answer. And Lux is mildly horrified to find herself smiling back. Jinx’s unfiltered joy is simply infectious. If it was a disease, it could wipe out the continent in a month.

“Admit it, Flashlight,” Jinx mouths. “You’re enjoying yourself.”

“Am not,” Lux stubbornly replies, despite the grin firmly on her lips.

“Whatever you say,” Jinx huffs out a laugh. Then with a grand sweep of her brush, Jinx nods at Cassiopeia. “Now, what do you think of giving this lady a pair of swirly spectacles?”

“Spectacles? Please. Let’s give her the full clown face treatment.”

“I like the way you think.”

The next morning opens with a loud, ear-splitting screech. A furious Cassiopeia charges into the dining hall, screaming for the bloody murder of whoever tampered with her perfect face. She is a breath away from casting her Petrifying Gaze and turning everyone into stone, when a frantic Katarina and Talon quickly haul her away.

In a corner, seated at a table, Jinx and Lux nonchalantly eat their breakfast. They don’t look at each other. They don’t share secretive laughs. They appear, to any curious bystander, like they accidentally sat next to each other - because all the other tables were full.

“I still don’t like you,” Lux says to no one in particular, cutting a bite of bacon.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Jinx replies through a mouthful of food.

Ugh, gross, Lux thinks, grimacing. Because she absolutely was not, in any way, smiling.


End file.
